-The United Nations A United Nations report released today spotlights the high rates of teenage pregnancies in developing countries - 7.3 million every year - and calls on Governments to help girls achieve their full potential through education and adequate health services. The State of World Population 2013, produced by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), notes that out of the 7.3 million births, 2 million are to girls who are 14 or...

-The Hindu New Delhi: Against the backdrop of increasing violence against women and children across the country, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development had launched the ‘Ahimsa Messenger' Programme in last August to address the critical issue at the grass roots level through creating numerous Ahimsa Messengers. The messengers would be generating awareness on basic legal rights, procedures and provisions amongst women and children; they would also serve as link...

-The Times of India BANGALORE: This should set alarm bells ringing in the IT city. Bangalore is now the breast cancer capital of the country. According to Population Based Cancer Registry (PBCR) report 2013, the city tops the chart with 36.6 new cases for every one lakh population having the disease. And doctors say it has much to do with lifestyle. The registry, compiled from 11 major cities across India, shows Pune...

-The Times of India LONDON: India, the world's child marriage capital, has once again failed its under-age brides. The country has refused to sign the first-ever global resolution on early and forced marriage of children led by the UN. The resolution was supported by a cross-regional group of over 107 countries, including almost all countries with high rates of child marriage-Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Chad, Guatemala, Honduras and Yemen. The resolution floated by...

-The Hindu Every biomedical and health research involving human participants, whether in conventional areas, or in new evolving specialised fields, will have to be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the proposed Biomedical and Health Research Regulation Bill, 2013. Research on human subjects in the specified areas like assisted reproductive technology (ART); organ, tissue and cell therapy; genetic and genomic studies including techniques of genetic engineering and gene therapy; nano medicines;...